Evacuation Plans Readied As Buffalo Flooding Looms

[Purveyor]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- First came the big storm, then the big dig. Now comes the big melt.

Residents of flood-prone areas around Buffalo should move valuables up from the basement, pack a bag and prepare for the possibility of evacuation as up to 7 feet of melting snow posed the threat of flooding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned Sunday.

"Err on the side of caution," Cuomo said at a news conference in Cheektowaga. "You prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and that's what we're doing."

Across the Buffalo region - where rising temperatures were expected to approach 60 degrees on Monday - people took that advice to heart.

In Hamburg, Pete Yeskoot bought a portable generator to make sure his sump pump will keep working once the roughly 80 inches of snow that fell on his property melts. Possessions are up on blocks in the basement and he has food for several days.

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[helpmetohelpyou]

1. I had the same thing happen where I live and no sump pump would have been able to keep up

with the amount of water coming in my basement.

I ran out and had to buy a transfer pump

[Purveyor]

2. Serious floodling is something we have never had to be concerned about as this

house sets on a sand/clay/limestone hill.

That said, we have had 3 occasions in my lifetime that it rained so hard and fast that the window wells to the basement overflowed and water poured and trashed the floor.

Don't even have a sump pump.

[helpmetohelpyou]

3. It's a shock when you see it

I remember sitting on my basement steps just watching the water rising .

I would wait until the water got up to around 8 '' and hit it with the transfer pump and drain the basement.

It went on for over 30 hours no sleep until I was sure the sump pump would be able to keep up, it was insane